Another volcano in Iceland is due to erupt, and its ash cloud may exceed that of Eyjafjallajokull (Icelandic: [ˈeiːjaˌfjatl̥aˌjœːkʏtl̥), the volcano that erupted in 2010 affecting air traffic across the Atlantic. The volcano last erupted in 1918, and before that it was believed to follow a pattern of once every fifty years, making it long overdue. This volcano, Katla, is also one of the largest releasers of CO2 on the Earth. It releases upwards of sixteen kilotons of carbon dioxide every day, five percent of all volcanic emissions around the world, which is still only two percent of the carbon dioxide released by humans.

Many scientists believe predicting this eruption is impossible at this point, despite the extreme scrutiny the volcano is under. This is partially due to the fact that the previous eruptions of this volcano have not followed any clear, known patterns, therefore making it impossible to extrapolate, so scientists are left to monitor magma activity. The massive releases of CO2 do indicate that the magma chambers of the volcano are filling up, and an eruption is bound to happen soon.

Additionally, this volcano has had an intense history. When it erupted in 821 AD it affected weather conditions all across Europe as well as expanding the Icelandic coast by five kilometers. It caused cold temperatures, heavy snowfall, poor harvests, and famine. If the coming eruption is anywhere near the magnitude of that one, European weather will be dramatically affected, and air travel will likely be severely delayed and canceled across the Atlantic. Another issue is the hundreds of thousands of meters of ice, being that it is under 200 meters of ice, surrounding the volcano that, if melted, will flood the southwest coast of Iceland.

However, luckily for Icelanders and mainland Europe, some scientists believe that an eruption is not, in fact, imminent and that the increase in the release of CO2 has yet to be explained. Only time will tell whether Katla will erupt disastrously with catastrophic results.

Photo Courtesy of http://earthice.hi.is/